Canadians say Carney government failed them as Iranian missiles landed in Israel
The Carney government largely failed to help Canadian citizens safely and quickly exit Israel as Iran began its deadly bombardment of civilian areas late last week, according to two evacuees.
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Two Canadians who spent several days sheltering intermittently in bomb shelters say they found safe passage via Birthright, an organization that brings members of the Jewish diaspora to Israel on a 10-day sponsored trip to learn more about the country.
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'The messaging has been all over the place,' Pe'er Krut told National Post. 'What I can tell you for sure is that Birthright took it in their own hands completely to help Canadian students get out of Israel.'
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Ottawa finally announced an evacuation plan on June 20 as Krut and others fled the Iranian bombs with Birthright's help.
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Hi @AnitaAnandMP
As you know, most countries operating diplomatic missions in Israel have been getting their citizens out for days now. As you also know it's really not that complicated to mount an overland evacuation operation to Jordan. And as you should know, there are other… https://t.co/gEPGfdXEht
— Vivian Bercovici (@VivianBercovici) June 21, 2025
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Krut, a Torontonian in Jerusalem doing a legal internship over the summer, said she got word on June 16 from her program organizers, Onward — which falls under the umbrella of Birthright — that plans were in motion to evacuate her and others from Israel. Over the intervening days while the logistics were ironed out, Krut recalls spending hours running back and forth to a bomb shelter as Iranian missiles struck Israel.
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'We were going up and down every few hours for a few days, it felt like I started to get to know every face, their personalities. People would bring food for the community. The same person would hold the door open for all the people in wheelchairs, the same baby would always be crying in the corner, comforted by some random other neighbour who would help out.'
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On June 20, Krut boarded a cruise ship in Ashdod, a town just south of Tel Aviv, with hundreds of Birthright participants from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom bound for Cyprus. 'We all signed waivers and they bussed us to the boat,' she said. 'This is like a Mission Impossible escape plan, what they pulled off.'
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